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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to requiring a single entrance to a public school campus; |
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creating a criminal offense. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 37, Education Code, is |
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amended by adding Section 37.1051 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 37.1051. SINGLE ENTRANCE REQUIRED; OFFENSE. (a) A |
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school district or open-enrollment charter school shall adopt a |
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policy that: |
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(1) limits public entry to each district or school |
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campus to a single entrance; and |
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(2) requires each external door to a district or |
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school campus, other than the entrance designated under Subdivision |
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(1), to be closed and locked to entry. |
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(b) A school district or open-enrollment charter school |
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shall post on each external door to a district or school campus, |
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other than the entrance designated under Subsection (a)(1), a |
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conspicuous sign that states that: |
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(1) the door is not a public entrance and may not be: |
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(A) used to allow another person to enter; or |
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(B) left open, unsecured, and unattended; and |
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(2) use of the door in a manner described by |
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Subdivision (1) may constitute an offense under this section. |
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(c) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly |
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opens an external door to a school district or open-enrollment |
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charter school campus, other than the entrance designated under |
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Subsection (a)(1), and: |
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(1) allows another person to enter the campus through |
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that door; or |
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(2) leaves the door open, unsecured, and unattended. |
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(d) An offense under Subsection (c) is a state jail felony. |
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(e) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (c) that |
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at the time of the offense the person was acting: |
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(1) in response to an emergency situation at the |
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school district or open-enrollment charter school campus; and |
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(2) in the person's capacity as: |
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(A) a school district or open-enrollment charter |
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school peace officer, school resource officer, security personnel |
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member, or school marshal; |
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(B) a peace officer; |
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(C) a first responder or volunteer emergency |
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services personnel, as those terms are defined by Section 46.01, |
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Penal Code; |
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(D) an emergency medical services volunteer, as |
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defined by Section 773.003, Health and Safety Code; or |
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(E) the parent of or person standing in parental |
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relation to a student inside the campus. |
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SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |